100 Elephant Sculptures on Boston’s Commonwealth Avenue Mall: ‘The Great Elephant Migration’

100 life-sized elephant sculptures are coming to Boston. This summer, The Great Elephant Migration transforms the tree-lined Commonwealth Avenue Mall into a walkable outdoor gallery, with the herd spread between Fairfield and Arlington Streets in the heart of Back Bay. Each elephant is hand-carved from dried lantana root, an invasive weed, by Indigenous artisans from India's Nilgiri Hills, and modeled after real, named elephants who share their landscape with those communities. The exhibit is a global fundraising initiative that channels proceeds toward human-wildlife coexistence projects and the protection of migratory species worldwide. Visitors can stroll among matriarchs, calves, and bulls, take photos with the towering sculptures, and even purchase an elephant to support ongoing conservation work. Completely free and open to the public, the herd remains in Boston from August 8 through September 13, 2026, before continuing its journey to the next city.

Commonwealth Avenue Mall

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100 Elephant Sculptures on Boston’s Commonwealth Avenue Mall: ‘The Great Elephant Migration’

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